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Morphine Versus Methadone Treatment for Neonatal Withdrawal and Impact on Early Infant Development
Sharon Burke1, Anna Malia Beckwith2
1Children's Specialized Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Global Pediatric Health
|August 15, 2017
Summary
Infants treated for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) with morphine showed better cognitive and motor development scores compared to those treated with methadone. Further screening is recommended to track these developmental outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Developmental pediatrics
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a growing concern.
- Current treatment protocols for NAS involve opioid pharmacotherapy.
- Morphine and methadone are commonly used to manage NAS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the developmental outcomes of infants treated for NAS with morphine versus methadone.
- To assess cognitive, language, and motor development following treatment.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of 36 infants diagnosed with NAS.
- Infants were divided into two groups: 17 treated with methadone and 19 with morphine.
- Developmental assessment using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley-III) post-treatment.
Main Results:
- Infants treated with morphine demonstrated significantly higher mean Cognitive Composite Scores (91.3 vs 83.0; P = .034).
- Morphine-treated infants also had significantly higher mean Total Motor Composite Scores (96.3 vs 89.6; P = .015).
- No significant differences were noted in the Language domain.
Conclusions:
- Morphine treatment for NAS was associated with superior cognitive and gross motor development compared to methadone.
- These findings suggest a potential impact on current NAS treatment protocols.
- Long-term developmental screening is warranted to confirm the persistence of these differences.
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